Use color Material while in Edit / Wire Mode
You can use Vertex Paint for this task.


Enter Edit mode, select face edgeloops which you'd like to be the same color.
Switch to Vertex Paint mode and enable Face selection masking for painting option in 3D View header to paint only on selected vertices which form faces. Faces which were selected in Edit mode will become slightly different from others of the mesh, showing that they are selected.
Paint with any brush radius because the accuracy is not important any more. Rotate viewport in order to paint from different angles. Change colors for different edge loops as desired.


Now when in Edit or Object mode turn on Textured Solid in N panel > Shading scroll. In Solid or Texture viewport shading the edgeloops will be shown painted.

 

Note: this works only for Blender Internal. For Cycles you probably should bake colors to image and use it as a texture in order they to be seen in Edit mode.